Out of gas

Luc Brown’s hat trick was a losing cause on Friday as the Dukes dropped a 6-5 decision in overtime.

Dukes drop three games, but have clinched a playoff spot

Words ought to have meaning— even in the world of OJHL officiating. In the warmup before Monday’s game in Stouffville, a stray puck slid into the Dukes end. Forward Luc Brown lobbed it back. This, it turns out is a penalty. Not an ordinary penalty but one described as “travesty of the game, gross misconduct.” For this crime, Brown will miss three games. Three rather important games.

No one was hurt. No one was touched. Merely a wayward puck returned.

Now, hockey is a pretty sturdy game— particularly in Canada. It seems hardly possible the game could be injured or diminished by the return of a puck. Perhaps, if it was aimed at the head of an unsuspecting opposition player—it wasn’t. But even in the worst case, it would seem a stretch to consider it a travesty of the game, worthy of a three-game suspension.

As it turns out, this ignominious violation was an omen of another tough game for the Dukes, their third in a row.

STOUFFVILLE 3 – DUKES 1
Rookie speedster Greg Smith gave Wellington the early lead, burying a rebound two minutes into the game. Wellington continued to press, but couldn’t expand upon their lead. In the second period, Stouffville switched gears. The Dukes had no response. Despite several odd-man advantages, the Dukes’ offence went cold. They were badly outshot in the period.

The Spirit rebounded with two goals, three minutes apart in the second and hung on through the third period— adding an empty net marker late—to send the Dukes home with their third loss in four days.

The game saw Will Cook’s amazing scoring streak come to an end. Until Monday, the talented forward had scored at least one point in each of his previous 13 games. Over this run, he had racked up 27 points.

Brandon Kosik battles for position in front of the Junior Canadiens’ net on Friday.

TORONTO JR. CANADIENS 6 – DUKES 5 IN OVERTIME
Riding a four-game winning streak and with a playoff spot nearly in the bag, the Dukes welcomed the Toronto Junior Canadiens to Wellington on Friday night. The Junior Canadiens is a middle-of-the-pack outfit that has benefitted this season from the relative weakness in the South West division and one particularly able line.

Before many Wellington fans had found their seats, the Dukes owned a 2-0 lead. As he has done so effectively since Christmas, Cook won the battle along the boards deep in Toronto’s zone, skated away from the scrum behind the net and put the puck onto Abbott Girduckis’s stick. He tapped it into the net. Twenty seconds later, Brown retreived his own shot that was blocked by a Toronto defender. Alone with the netminder, Brown picked his spot and buried his first of three that night. The Junior Canadiens regrouped and scored two goals of their own, tying the score. Then both Girduckis and Brown scored in sequence. The Dukes finished the first period with a 4-2 lead. Brown added his third midway through the second, roofing a shot from a sharp angle. The Dukes had a three-goal lead. It seemed like enough. It wasn’t.

Toronto’s Anthony Repaci scored his second and third goals of the game in the second period—narrowing the Dukes’ lead to a single goal. It might have spurred the Dukes to rebound in the third period. It didn’t.

Wellington looked weary. Toronto looked sharp. Wellington passes failed to connect. Toronto was a threat each time they gained the Dukes’ zone. As the period grew older, it appeared the Dukes might just hang on. But with four minutes left, Toronto scored to tie the game.

In overtime, the Dukes once again looked exhausted. They managed no shots through four minutes. Finally, Toronto connected on a slick three-way passing play. Daniel Potter had no chance in the Dukes’ net.

It was a confusing game. It was one in which the Dukes appeared as though they might score seven or eight goals as they romped over Toronto. Then, suddenly, they appeared to run out of gas.

It was odd to watch the Junior Canadiens celebrate as though it was a championship game, in Wellington. It felt as though we had missed something.

TORONTO PATRIOTS 5 – DUKES 3
The Dukes found themselves down early—behind 3-1 midway through the first period. It was a tough start. Joe McKeown scored to mark Toronto’s first goal—and two more quick goals by the Patriots gave them the upper hand. A minute into the second frame, Cook scored on a two-man advantage pulling the Dukes to within a goal.

But late in the middle frame, Toronto shot from a bad angle slipped through Olivier Lafrenière in the Dukes’ net. It was a tough goal. Then the Dukes’ captain hit the crossbar. Toronto scored again. Brown scored to narrow the lead to two goals. A pair of Dukes goals were disqualified. It was a closer game than the score indicated—but it was another loss.

In the meantime, the Pickering Panthers had run out of games to catch up to the Dukes for the eighth and final playoff spot in the North East conference.

PLAYOFF SCENARIOS
With three losses, the Dukes have slipped behind Newmarket. Wellington has two games left—in Kingston on Thursday, and at home against Cobourg on Friday night. Newmarket has just a single game left.

If Wellington remains in the eighth spot, it is likely they will face Aurora in the first round of the playoffs. If they pass Newmarket into seventh place, they will likely face Trenton.